Chapel of Hope Stories

Dear Reader:

Don’t we humans have a tendency (especially) in today’s society to compartmentalize? Nothing makes us happier than sorting through drawers and getting organized….by color, size, popularity of usage, or any other of a dozen different categories we create for ourselves.

We feel so proud of ourselves for cleaning and sorting through drawers, cabinets, and closets. And there is nothing wrong in it…to an extent. The problem arises when we spend inordinate amounts of time categorizing our blackberries, or apps, or emails or phone calls…it is an endless job and takes away leisure and family time from our busy schedules. More importantly it takes away spiritual time.

Americans have been accused of separating their secular lives from their spiritual ones more  than any other country… In our country we see continuous conflicts between “church and state” in the legal sense…and so perhaps, over time, we have steered clear of  mixing the two together…easier to keep them in separate compartments.

From the blog (Christianity 201- This Pilgrim’s Progress) Chris observes:

We live segregated lives while career, family, and leisure remain in separate drawers. We particularly make sure that our secular versus  spiritual lives remain separated…we don’t want to get in any trouble over mixing those “drawers.”

Over time… we have become so adept at this separation that we rarely give it much thought when planning our daily schedules. No “spill overs” becomes our banner for the way we live our lives.

Chris remembers an “A-Ha” moment he had while leading a devotional at a conference in Fort Worth. He recalls that the devotional leader (the previous day) had offered meditation on the verse, “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10)

He sat thinking about that line of scripture. It appears to put out a call for people to pull away from the busy-ness of life to seek God’s presence. But, he thought, don’t we also need to heed the call to bring God into the busy-ness of our lives?

If God is everywhere wouldn’t it be easier to de-compartmentalize  our spirituality by making it a part of our every day secular life?  Shouldn’t we strive to stay in prayer 24/7 by making God our co-decision maker at work, our understanding neighbor at home, and our first baseman at play?

John Castle made these remarks (excerpts) titled: ” Stop Compartmentalizing Your Life” -The High Calling:

The truth is God calls us to journey with Him just as decisively as He called Moses to free the children of Israel. He invites us to be a part of His plan and to seek and find our meaning in Him. But we can’t continue to hold onto the illusion that we are the CEO of our lives or that our work is separate from God. No, on this journey, all belongs to God. It is a journey characterized by commitment and obedience and trust. 

I am sure that wherever the journey leads there are going to be good times and bad times, and it will be full of surprises as well. But there are two things I know: I know who will be with me on the journey, and I know where the journey ends. And in truth, that’s really all I need to know.

………………………..

 Instead of adding a whole separate compartment titled: Time to Chat with God  wouldn’t it just be easier to ask Him for His intervention and guidance throughout our day…and then be open to His ideas?

So until tomorrow…Let’s all work towards integrating all the wonders and blessings of life God has created for us into each day …keeping our compartments flung wide open… with the keys thrown away…Help yourself God to my life!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Rutledge definitely has his trucks in his top category of interest in life at this two year old stage …so much so that it sometimes runs into the sleeping category!

• I almost forgot…today is Lachley’s 5 month birthday….Go Lachley! You’re catching up fast! Sweet baby!
• 
• Jakie’s top two categories are eating and watching Mickey Mouse!

Dear Reader:

Take a good look and then wave good-bye to my old porch…the way it was! My moon flower and morning glory vines are gone… Here are where most of the vines and planters are located temporarily (until Anne and I can find a better home for them in the backyard Monday.)

The vines are draped over branches on the Bradford Pear haphazardly… now I must “baby” them until we can relocate them to a happier place while major “construction” takes place on my house.

It all started innocently enough…by a remark from Mandy the last time she and Eva Cate were over here a couple of weeks ago.

Up until then I felt pretty proud of myself….this summer I have put in new parts on the old car and it is running smoothly again, and I just had a new hot water heater installed to replace my old one that died a few weeks ago. I worked out ways to handle both situations…surely…the bad mojo was gone now….or so I thought.

With the exception of one bathroom…to date  the rest of my rooms have new and/or fairly new paint jobs with cute accessories- newly painted cabinets, new furniture decor….my home makes me so happy now…I find myself walking around both sides smiling…it’s taken a life time to accomplish this…but now back to the story….

Mandy was holding Jakie and came out on the porch…looked down and said…”Your porch is sinking.” I had never noticed anything…but when I joined her…it was easy to see where it was beginning to slant on one side.

Then I realized that the slanting porch ( that supports two columns which, then, supports the roof…was off-balance.) I felt like Chicken Little…”The sky is falling…the sky is falling.”

I called my wonderful friend, Paul Sanders, who I trust completely, to walk around my house and tell me what should get corrected to secure the old home and what to expect monetarily to accomplish that…

He did and was very reassuring…he gave me several names of people he would trust to help straighten out my crooked house…(which makes me the crooked little woman without a little crooked cat… I reckon.)

I took a deep breath and called his friend and since that phone call I have felt like the roller coaster rider at the top of the hill…hanging on for dear life. They started immediately…

Two new porch columns went up yesterday (one was rotted at the bottom)…the cracked cement porch floor must be busted up and replaced with new cement….some of the windows are beyond repair… there is lots of water damaged trim work which must be replaced and then, of course, the new roof. Deep breath!

Good-bye annuity…hello new clean, outside exterior with new wood, windows,  roof…and porch….at least I know, now, that the roof won’t fall in on my head.

When we save for a rainy day….it is just a matter of time before the rainy day will find us…it will rain all kinds of problems…and as we all know, when it rains it really pours most times.

To quote Betsy, however…”It’s all good”…Don’t we  love to dream that we can sit back and watch our savings grow without ever touching it …as if it is sitting in some sterile vault… free from problems? *There’s a real obstacle with this visualization…a little thing called “LIFE” gets in the way.

I will always have my Happy Room to make me smile….but now my house will be called “Boo’s Blessings” because Mandy noticed something critical in the nick of time, Paul helped me get a big picture of all the work needed, time was made available for the workers to start earlier than predicted, and I am lucky enough to have some savings from all those years of teaching.

So until tomorrow….When we come to the realization that our homes are just temporary abodes until we go to live with God…it finally dawns on us that God is our Home…no matter what or where  it is.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

• Guess who God sent to me Friday evening….Anne! She arrived at my door with two hamburgers which we ate with a glass of wine…quite good actually! And then Anne helped me untangle the vines of morning glories and moon flower vines from off the Bradford Tree…transferring them to the fence on the side of the garden in the back yard.

While working on the dismantlement we  discovered that Friday night would have been the night…we counted almost a dozen moon flower buds …just waiting to pop open…(though they were suffering from a temporary shock over the move…so I am not sure what will happen to the blooms…time will tell.)

Look at the last photo’s passion plant’s vine tendril forming the sacred spiral of life. Amazing!

After dark Friday night….I took my camera and, to my delight, discovered  some buds were blooming…even after two uprooting “moves” from the porch to the tree to the fence.

Yesterday was Eva Cate and Boo Boo (Back to School) Day….I picked her up to show her what was happening with the house and to let her pick out something for school.

On the way to Summerville we had the most interesting conversation about God…I pretended to be a reporter and interview her… finally I asked her what was the one thing she wanted people to know about God….an Eva Cate Orignal:

“God loves us everyone ….mean people, selfish people…it doesn’t matter…He loves us so we must always stay kind in our heart “no matter what.” (NO matter what is her newest expression)

We stopped by the cemetery yesterday at Poppy and Dee Dee’s grave sites…Eva Cate loved that their grave marker was in the shape of a heart…that must have prompted her to suddenly lean over and kiss each one…I barely had time to  catch it with my camera.

Dear Reader:

The Sunday I did the Children’s Message at church we sang one of my favorite hymns….”We Are One in the Spirit.”

It was the hymn of response in our service following the sermon. As I was (rather off-key) singing happily along…I noticed some information about the history of the song at the bottom of the page.

When we sat back down…I began to read the details about the song and the story intrigued me. It was written in the middle of the sixties Civil Rights Movement by a parish priest who was very involved in the movement.

The year was 1966. The priest’s name was Peter Scholtes…a parish priest at St. Brendan’s on the South Side of Chicago in the 1960’s.  He worked with the youth choir and he knew that there was an urgent need to find a song that the young people could sing at ecumenical, interracial events.

A song that revealed what their church’s stance was on the Civil Rights Movement. He searched for several weeks for the right combination of the (then) popular folk music style that, also, encompassed simple but powerful lyrics of universal acceptance that could be used at (the increasingly sought-after) folk masses.

Finding nothing, he wrote the song in a single day.

Soon after it was performed by his youth choir;  it quickly became the companion to “We Shall Overcome“…the mantra of the Civil Rights Movement.

One woman, who was a youth at St. Brendan’s in the sixties and who was one of the first to sing the song… later passed down a poignant story that she shared with her son about the first night it was sung….

The youth choir, unknowing to Scholtes, decided to change one word in the lyrics and it brought tears of joy to their choir leader (and composer) during the performance.

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
And we pray that all unity may one day be restored
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love

When the choir got to the third line that read…”And we pray that all unity may one day be restored” the choir changed the words… from one day…to THIS DAY and sang it out loudly!.

(Earlier the youth had discussed the possibility that people opposed to the civil rights movement might use “one day” to mean in the next world…but not here and not now.)

…………………

This incident reminded me that there is a story behind every thing in life…if we take time to look for it. 

So until tomorrow….Let us take time to listen to the lyrics behind “We Are One in the Spirit” and remind ourselves of the important message of universal acceptance and unity… as all  God’s Children. All we need is love!!

They’ll Know We Are Christians Peter Scholtes 1966 …

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* Sad news from Tommy and Kaitlyn…they went to Chattanooga for Kailtyn’s best friend’s wedding this weekend and took the “three little men”– Rudy, Atticus, and Pip with them.

Kaitlyn had set up an appointment with Rudy’s vet (who performed the surgery on him last year) for his annual check-up and sadly the tumor has returned and the prognosis isn’t good.

Then Pip  suddenly got sick, after their arrival, and the vet thinks it might be a neurological disorder.*Please say a prayer for Tommy and Kaitlyn and their “Three Little Amigos.” Thank you! They are all a part of the family!

Dear Reader:

“We rise by lifting others…We grow by caring for others.”

Haven’t we all been in situations that leave us deflated and at a loss to find any blessings in the situation?

Sometimes, I think that is when God performs His greatest “magical tricks”!

This true anecdote from the book (Trading Your Worry for Wonder) reminds us that, sometimes, in our greatest loss of faith God reveals Who He really is and what He is capable of doing. Magic!

“Do You Love Me, Do You Not? You Told Me Once , But I Forgot?”

The story centers around a young family who had just made a difficult move to a new town and were trying to get their home ready for Christmas, especially since  the children’s grandparents were coming.

Justin was so excited about seeing his grandparents again! His mom knit new stockings for him and his brother Christopher. The tree was up  and decorated… the stockings were “hung by the chimney with care”…everything looked like ‘it was on go.‘

And then-just two days before Christmas…Justin suffered a severe asthma attack. He was rushed to Saint John’s hospital. His regular doctor was out of town so he was treated in the emergency room…being stuck several times before the nurses could get an IV in him…and then he was put in an oxygen tent.

By Christmas Eve, however, Justin seemed much improved and the nurses assured her that the vast majority of the children would get to go home…but it didn’t turn out that way for Justin. She was told by the doctor (assigned to him) that her son still needed to be on IV fluids…it was too soon to send him home.

The family assured her that whenever Justin got home…that was when they would celebrate Christmas… her husband had to stay home with little Christopher… so a long, dreary Christmas Eve night with a sad little boy loomed ahead.

After Justin’s dinner tray had been removed…a man brightly dressed as Santa came bounding down the hall calling, “Merry Christmas!”

He stopped in Justin’s room and delivered a cowboy hat, just his size. Moments later two little Camp Fire girls brought in a handmade white mitten ornament, decorated with holly and gave it to him. Hardly had they left than a family of Mexican-American carolers arrived. Dressed in native costumes they sang “Silent Night’ and “Joy to the World.”

Finally a  tall, massive young man appeared in the doorway…a University of Oklahoma football player in his jersey, who sat on Justin’s bed and began talking with him. Justin, an avid football fan, was speechless that a “real live” football hero had come to see just him.

Justin was even more amazed when the burly athlete produced a surprise gift for him.

“A cowboy rifle and spurs!” Justin exclaimed, “They go with my hat!”

“I think God plans things that way, don’t you?”responded the athlete with a wink and hug before leaving. Justin’s mom knew the “coincidence” was expertly planned…it took her breath away.

Early on Christmas morning, a tall, thin man in worn clothing quietly entered the room. Without a word, he took out an old flute and began to play a lovely Christmas medley. It was the most beautiful music Justin and his mom had ever heard.

Finishing this serenade he handed Justin a small cup filled with tiny red candies…and then, with a smile, he slipped out the door. Justin’s mom realized that there had been a Santa Claus and then there had been a Santa Claus.

Later that day she asked the nurse on duty about the Santa from the night before…did some community club sponsor him and how did he know the sizes for all the children?

The nurse motioned her out in the hall and explained:

“Several years ago a couple’s only daughter (who was three years old) died in this ward on Christmas Eve. Now each Christmas the parents find out the exact size of each child and have the gifts delivered by “Santa” so they can remain anonymous. They understand what it’s like to be here at Christmas.”

Justin’s mom slowly but clearly, began to realize that none of the people who had shared their love and gifts with them and others even knew anyone’s name. They had done nothing to earn or deserve the gifts given from the hearts of these every day angels.

That special Christmas would always remain in both mother and son’s memory…when a lonely hospital with its noisy bustle and antiseptic smells, became a place of God’s healing love. Away from family, friends, and a baby son, without a Christmas tree or tradition… Christmas came anyway.

God had delivered His special gift. God loved them and for the first time in many years mom finally understood the true meaning of Christmas…she was loved. It was Christmas “Magic.”

………………………..

So until tomorrow…Keep us open to God’s love…an endless love beyond our mere mortal ability to comprehend its intensity….

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

• I loved watching the sunlight play in the garden yesterday morning….

Mike Burrell stopped by yesterday and delivered a gift from Honey. Excuse me….gifts. Mountain tomatoes (yum!) hand-made name plates and beautiful colored glass to catch the rays of the sun – called Hope on the Blue Ridge. ( Love the white dove set against the tranquil mountains)

Oh…how I love my Honey Burrell…they broke the mold with her….there will never be anyone like her!

Now I have a memento to remind me where my hope lives…in a little chapel in the Blue Ridge Mountains…

We all know that bears love honey (like Winnie the Pooh) but this black bear seemed to, also like  our Honey. She was driving along and something caught her eye…a big black bear in the fields parallel to the car….she stopped and took this picture (from afar)

Dear Reader:

I know I must raise my hand and confess “Guilty” if asked if my fears get in the way of my faith.

As much as I try to push fears aside…the insidious little “creatures” have a way of finding their way back into the control room of my brain center. They then start shooting out messages that start with:

“But what if….or “I’m not strong enough to handle this” or “How can I be sure or “What if I really mess this up?”

Cheri Fuller, in her book Trading Your Worry for Wonder, states that part of the problem for many of our needless worries and concerns stem from the fact that we keep God at a distance.

She uses the analogy of a little boy running and jumping in the arms of his daddy full of faith and assurance that he will catch you…because he always has before. We humans need to feel that reassurance of love and protection over and over and over and even then, we still have trouble accepting it.

Haven’t we all gotten to the place many times in our lives where we aren’t sure any more if God really loves us….if He is listening or even cares?

We go through the motions, showing up for church most of the time, and we try to do the right things most of the time…but we still keep God at a distance like some type of kind old uncle who we love and enjoy being with…but in between visits we forget about him and let the world take control of our lives and dictate our paths.

Why do we distance ourselves from God … Cheryl Fuller says that most of the time it stems from fear…and we pay a high price for it. (Here is an excerpt from her book)

The High Cost of Fear

What a toll anxiety and fear take in our lives! It’s the greatest barrier to our becoming all God means us to be. Moreover, fear, whether conscious or unconscious, has several devastating effects. 

1. Fears causes confusion and faulty thinking– worrying actually blocks logical thinking
2. Fear saps our energy– if we use it up worrying…like a car we can literally run out of gas
3. Fear harms relationships– people-pleasers fear rejection so badly that instead of being honest…we put on masks
4. Fear limits our potential– Fears literally create what we fear…“I was afraid that was going to happen.” 
5. Fear robs us of faith– When fear robs us of our faith, then power, strength, and a loving attitude go too.
6. Fear and Worry steal our joy– It’s hard to be happy and worried at the same time.

Corrie ten Boom (Holocaust survivor and heroine) *This is such a powerful quote…am writing it on my mirror….until I learn it.

“Worry doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrows. It empties today of it strength.”

Fuller concludes her first chapter by stating:

“The good news is that you can trade worry for wonder:

Wonder- at what an adventure life becomes when we’re not shackled by anxiety

Wonder– at the growth in our relationships when we let go of control

Wonder– as we discover and pursue the special gifting and purpose God has for our life

Wonder– at who God is and how great His power is toward us who believe.

……………………..

So until tomorrow…May we trade our worry in for wonder…and continue to run and jump into our Father’s arms…secure in His Presence and open to all the wonder and awe of life.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

Meet the amazing Holderness Family! If they look familiar it is probably because you got caught up with their 2013 Christmas video rap…”Christmas Jammies.” I remember watching that video over and over and laughing my head off.

Well…now that it is time to return to school they have made a video titled: Baby Got Class: (A Back to School Parody) Again I find myself laughing uncontrollably. Do take two minutes, out of your day, to watch! You won’t regret it.

Baby Got Class — A back to school parody – YouTube

The thing about this family that I love is that they don’t take themselves seriously and it makes everyone fall in love with them…but in reality Penn and his wife Kim had to “seriously” make some life -altering decisions after the popularity of “Christmas Jammies.”

Penn had worked in television for 18 years and it was “seriously” no longer fun. He found himself not caring about half the things he talked about on the news.

As he described himself…he was a…

(Penn at WNCN) …  “fancy shmancy news  anchor.”

So he quit his job (very scary) and he now runs a video production/digital marketing company in Raleigh, North Carolina (www.VisitTheGreenroom.com) and is using his blog to showcase the 100% of things he actually cares about.

The Holderness Family | Facebook

He and his wife (who works alongside Penn on his projects) found the ‘secret portal’ to their passion in life…poking fun at every day events and finding ways to make people smile along the way. What a great gift to give others!

After one of the children’s teachers called home asking what their child  ate before coming to school (he was off the walls) Penn wrote : Ode to Teachers: Thank you for not selling my children on-line.

His comic relief provides just the “relief” we all need after a stressful day…and all of us can connect with all the trials and tribulations of  the dynamics of daily life (in general) this family encounters.

It has long been a secret tradition for first year retired teachers to have breakfast with fellow retirees and watch the yellow school buses go by the first day of school….while ordering another slice of bacon and more coffee.

Or you can find a restaurant/bar and order a drink (It’s five o’clock somewhere) to watch the buses return home with the rowdier kids squirming out the windows by then and have a toast for the poor bus driver and the teachers.

I remember the first few days of school…the principals wanted all the teachers outside on bus duty morning and afternoon…in the morning everyone had a big smile of anticiption on their face…by the end of that first day…the teachers were still smiling, but if you looked closely…their lips were trembling.

It is true, I believe, that hell must be in the shape of a yellow school bus.

It is not easy to make a major change in one’s life…especially with family responsibilities …but life is too short to spend over a 1/3 of it being miserable in one’s work. The secret is discovering what makes you want to get up in the morning…what excites you…and then pray hard and make the leap of faith.

We must never forget but always  remember that we are not alone in any major changes or endeavors in our lives.

So until tomorrow…If we try to emulate God’s ways…then, surely, we must realize that God is the greatest risk-taker in the world…after all He made us…right? Go for it!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

• Here are some photos of the latest “kids” in the garden

Dear Reader:

Another new word to add to our “how to stay in the groove” contemporary vocabulary!   “She-Shed”!

For years now the term “man cave” has been recognized as the coveted spot in the home where the man of the family can disappear -to watch sports in peace, eat pizza, drink beer with his buddies, and catch up on a few “Z’s” while he’s at it.

Realtors say that when showing a home these days the man is always looking for an extra nook, basement, or attic where he can find his “get-away” retreat from too much family sometimes.

But now it is a new day…and the women have started looking for a retreat too…and many are turning to old sheds, garages, and yes…even renovated tree houses. They prefer their retreats outside.

As cool as it would be to have a tree house “she shed”  behind the garden…it would definitely have to have a ramp (like the one in the title photo) going up to it.

When I did the blog on the tree house (in the back yard) a few months ago…it took me five minutes to catch my breath from climbing up the rather loose, wiggly, ladder steps and propelling myself through the square opening….

Whew…if I had to do that every day to get to my “she shed”…I would quickly “shed” the idea.

There are all types of ideas when it comes to “she-sheds” from aluminum sidings to elaborate separate “cottage” she-sheds. Here are a few ideas:

I, also, thought that I could use my garage as my “she-shed”…there is really one big problem with that idea, however, I would have to clean it out first….Ouch! Ugh!

I can’t believe Tim hauled a packed trailer full of “stuff” last year from the garage and it is still full of junk…I swear “stuff” reproduces like jack rabbits in there.

There are some other problems too…like no electricity is hooked up (to save money since the upstairs is just full of the children’s left-over “stuff” too.) And the outdoor staircase is mighty shaky!

Owning a home is a continuous job isn’t it…something is always “gasping” its last breath….from appliances, to air conditioning/heater units to roofs…Old homes remind me of hungry monsters…just waiting to gobble up more of our savings.

So as much as I would like to dream of another little abode…outside the home…my garden really provides that for me…and it doesn’t demand anything monetary…just some weed pulling and flower plantings…the skies don’t need fixing (like a roof) and there are no walls (to paint)…just beautiful colorful, floral blooms.

A special segment was done on the CBS Sunday Morning Show about “she-sheds” and it was very funny. Faith Salie had me laughing out loud at her “she-shed” in Manhatten. Do take a couple of minutes to watch and laugh at her commentary! It will make your day brighter!

Faith Salie: A shed of one’s own  (it will take a minute to come on…you can also read the commentary beneath the screen)

So until tomorrow….it is important to have a special spot to go and reflect on life and our role in it…to thank God for His many blessings…but I think a park bench in the woods or a chair on a deck or perhaps a bench by a fountain might be a lot cheaper and just as unwinding. (Because you aren’t worried about having to pay for the “she-shed”….or opt to live in a parallel world.)

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

• Look who Mike Burrell “hob-knobbed” with yesterday at The Greenbrier Golf Course.  You go Mike….and by the way, Lee Trevino is holding his own…two good-looking men! Honey said they did “Bunker Duty” together.

Dear Reader:

Yesterday afternoon as I was walking around the house to get the water hose to spray my hanging ferns… something sitting on the fence caught my attention. It was a half-eaten pear.

The beauty of this simple sight drew me to it and my Iphone…I quickly snapped the photo and walked off…but the mystery behind this scene lingered…

I figured a squirrel, most likely, had nibbled away at it…but why stop half-way and especially leave it balanced on a thin plank fence? Was the squirrel some type of philanthropist..sharing his wealth with others?

It doesn’t quite match most squirrels’ rather self-centered attitudes but then perhaps this squirrel was different. Lots of animals eat apples and pears…like rabbits, rodents, and deer…but I deducted it must have been a squirrel since it had climbed to the top of the fence to eat its feast and then, for some unexplained reason, left quite quickly…

Maybe a large hawk or some other flying predator’s shadow spread over the pear-eating squirrel and it figured that he could either continue eating and then probably be eaten itself…or leave half the spoils of the find and head for cover to eat another day.

As I researched pear-eating “critters” I came across a quite humorous article on the “new age” squirrels versus their ancestors.

Squirrels and Pears-How to Harvest Both Species!

Squirrels are cute little varmints who are not too particular about whether they eat the apples or pecans that you have spent a fortune on trying to produce.

But squirrels and pears don’t mix! Squirrels are cute little creatures that have become lazy in my yard. The furry devils ate all of my apples and are now mutilating my pears, rather than hunting for the “wild nuts and berries” that squirrels are supposed to eat.

Squirrels don’t want to search for their food in the wilds anymore. And why should they? We’ve grown their food for them in convenient, easy-to-eat forms.

You can say the squirrels of the new millennium are NOT what their parents were. These new-age squirrels want fast food, conveniently packaged.

Squirrels typically feed on tree fruits and nuts. Acorns and pecans have long been favorite foods, but now they have added apples, pears, peaches and tomatoes to their diet as well.

These critters have probably been reading health magazines and think they can lower their cholesterol by improving their diet! That’s all we need-a longer living, healthier squirrel! Squirrels do have a problem with overeating and if weren’t for a daily program of strenuous exercise and rigorous climbing, they would all probably be terribly obese.

……………………….

The article went on to talk about different kinds of traps for squirrels, etc. It reminded me of Poppy and his continuous fight against the squirrels eating his pears and especially his grape vines. His remedy was two-fold: traps and a BB gun.

Every time I pulled into the backyard I anxiously checked the cage set out (that trapped the squirrels) and prayed there wasn’t one in there. I must admit that I have cursed a squirrel or two in my time…but I couldn’t bring myself to dispose of one…I remember, even Dee Dee, setting some free when Poppy wasn’t around… before he spotted it.

I’m not exactly sure how to transition pear-eating squirrels into new thoughts on moon flowers, although their round perimeter does hold a slight resemblance

In the second Karen White novel I read…(Lost Hours) one of the main characters was Miss Lillian, a ninety-year old matriarch of a plantation home outside of Savannah. As she and the other main character, Piper, grow closer and share their love of gardens…much of the talk centers around moon flowers.

One day Miss Lillian admits… that in a way… moon flowers are “silly”flowers, in so much as, they wait to bloom until no one is around to see them… in their one grand moment of unveiling their true beauty on earth…and, then, by the next morning…all that is left of their “Cinderella” debut is something that looks like a wrinkled up piece of white tissue.

I remember stopping my reading and chuckling to myself…how true. I have missed most of my moon flower blooms (on the front porch) since many have waited until the midnight hour or later to dance by the light of the moon. But I know they bloomed because I sweep withered up wads of tissue paper off the porch most mornings.

Here are two moon flower blooms just starting to unfurl their beauty.

The next morning…this is what I see.

Last year my magic moon gate was covered in moon flower blooms by now…this year they have been slow to grow…but finally they have decided to start climbing…hopefully (before the season is over) I will get to see the gate, once again, covered in moon flower blooms.

The vines are finally beginning their ascent….I loved sitting on the deck last summer watching the moon flower blooms unfurl before my very eyes….I still have my fingers crossed that they will make it before the growing season ends.

Last year, this was what the moon flower gate looked like

Near the end of the novel (and Miss Lillian’s last days on earth) she changes her mind about the “silly” moon flowers and tells Piper:

“You know it takes courage to bloom when there is a good chance no one will see you or witness the beautiful transformation in you for your one “Cinderella” moment.

It also takes courage to be seen by many others after the “bloom” when all you have to show for your one shining moment is the look of ugly  wadded up tissue paper…something to be quickly overlooked and swept away. ”

Later Piper would remember those words of wisdom ..realizing that a whole rich life can be lived in a moment if we don’t look ahead but squeeze the joy of living out of our shining moments on earth.

So until tomorrow….Aren’t we happy for mysteries of lone pears sitting on fences and moon flower blooms that shine only for us on our special moments on earth?

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

• Even though I have missed several of the moon flowers blooming this year…my morning glories have made up for it by providing me with pink cotton candy striped colors to resemble moon flowers.

Dear Reader:

On May 17, 2014 Naval Admiral William H. McRaven (Ninth Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command) started his commencement speech at his alma mater (University of Texas) with this suggestion on how to change your perspective on life.

Every morning in basic SEAL training, my instructors, who at the time were all Vietnam veterans, would show up in my barracks room and the first thing they would inspect was your bed. If you did it right, the corners would be square, the covers pulled tight, the pillow centered just under the headboard and the extra blanket folded neatly at the foot of the rack — that’s Navy talk for bed.

It was a simple task — mundane at best. But every morning we were required to make our bed to perfection. It seemed a little ridiculous at the time, particularly in light of the fact that were aspiring to be real warriors, tough battle-hardened SEALs, but the wisdom of this simple act has been proven to me many times over.

If you make your bed every morning you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another. By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter. If you can’t do the little things right, you will never do the big things right.

And, if by chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is made — that you made — and a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better.

If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.

……………………….

For long periods of time following my initial diagnosis of breast cancer I found myself sleeping on the sofa in my Happy Room. It was like I felt I needed the companionship of the television for voices assuring me that everything was still “normal”….my diagnosis hadn’t changed any television programming or altered pre-planned schedules of favorite shows…my diagnosis wasn’t life-altering to the world…just to me and my nucleus of family and friends..

Little by little I made the transition …first moving into the guest bedroom and sleeping there…and finally making the big move back to my old bedroom. It felt like I was coming home again after a long absence…that I had given myself permission to be “normal” again.

Living by myself it would be quite easy to skip over that first task in the morning…making my bed…since days could go by with no one coming in the house and discovering my lapse of housekeeping.

But these days…it matters to me.

Admiral McRaven was right when he said… that if nothing else…having one’s bed made when you return to it after an especially hard day is a special gift to your self.

This habit is in the same category of keeping the kitchen table set at all times so an impromptu meal is ready to be shared with anyone coming through your door.

I learned this “trick” from my good friend and Berkeley Social Studies Co-hort Carol Poole. Every time I went to her house her dining room table was set so beautifully.

I remember asking her about it one day and she said it was her way of keeping southern hospitality alive and well. The “set” table with place settings lovingly arranged and fresh flowers, as the center piece,  showed guests that in her house the table was always set and ready for folks to sit down and share a meal and good camaraderie together.

I loved that image and  have strived to emulate her tradition in my home.

Around 8:30 Friday evening I went out to check on the garden and saw the most beautiful ‘portal to heaven’ in the skies. There was a slight sprinkle coming down and most of the sky had darkened ….but there was this one spot in the skies where a shimmering light was struggling to break through.

It made me feel like I had found the secret portal to the next world…and that maybe God was smiling down and wishing me a good night.

Tomorrow I will tell you something new about moonflowers that I had never considered but which makes them even more special to me….but right now…as I sign off…let me share with you a couple of the latest “developments” in the garden.

My Confederate Jasmine is suddenly going “wild”…pretty much covering the little picket fence and oh my goodness…it smells so good! You might remember that I wanted my garden to have all five senses within its gates and the scent of this flowering vine is like drinking a perfumed nectar of the mythological gods.

My morning glory vines have finally climbed the pine tree in the center of the garden and is now wrapping itself around the hanging chair…I can hardly wait to see the purple blooms against the lime green color the chair….there is always so much to look forward to (in any season) in a garden!

Mollie took the boys down town yesterday morning to play in the fountain….they look like they had a ball!

So until tomorrow…Remind me Lord to make my bed, keep my table ready for anyone to be fed, and follow your voice as each word is said.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Last night John and Mandy had the family over for the Farewell to Summer Bash….it went “swimmingly” well with lots of dancing going on! We even made “formal” introductions to the younger cousins so they would recognize each other at pre-school next week.

Everyone was there except Kaitlyn…she was on a combo wedding/family vacation this weekend…travel safely home today Kaitlyn- we missed you! ….God speed.

Dear Reader:

A favorite prayer at Hampton Plantation uttered by the workers there (that Archibald Rutledge would recall with great pleasure) was: “O Lord, prop me up in all my leaning places!”

Yesterday I was re-reading chapters from Archibald Rutledge’s book: Home by the River. It is still my favorite of all his writings and it really was like going home again to relish and embellish a life that no longer exists for us in this modern age… in its beautiful simplicity.

The older I get…the more “leaning places” seem to pop up on me… which, then,  require some more propping up!

And speaking of propping up…a wonderful, secret angel left sunflowers on my porch yesterday…I found them on the white bench when I returned from running some morning errands -no name or calling card. Whoever you are lovely angel…thank you…I LOVE sunflowers!

They made me so happy...I added some greenery and “propped” their long stems up the best I could… finally just deciding to let them lean in whichever direction they chose.

One day Archibald was talking to one of his sharecroppers and the sharecropper interrupted Archibald to tell him he needed to leave right then because it was time to go to church…only he didn’t say he was going to church…instead he  eloquently said: “Now I must go light my candle at His fire.” 

The beauty of words…

Last week Eva Cate and I were watching the beginning of  the original Jurrassic Park movie … a scene from the movie showed the skeleton of a dinosaur in a museum.

Suddenly Eva Cate exclaimed: “I know what that is…it is the skeletal system of a dinosaur!”  

I turned around and gave Eva Cate a curious look…”How did you know that Eva Cate?” (I was expecting her to tell me from a book a teacher had read or from a trip to a museum but I wasn’t expecting the answer she gave me.)

“God told me” she said nonchalantly and then left to play with her doll house.

Mandy hadn’t left yet and I asked her about the remark. She said lately every time Eva Cate has surprised them with some kind of trivia remark that one just didn’t expect to come out of a five year old’s mouth…(and they asked about it)…she gave the same answer: “God told me.”

Suddenly the combination of sunflowers and conversations with God reminded me of a sweet little story I once told at Vacation Bible School when I was still attending Summerville Presbyterian Church.

The title was something like “The Church of Sunflowers”

There once was a little girl ( I think her name was Nellie…either way we will go with that name) named Nellie who was very curious about God and church.

One day she asked her mother why they only went to church on one day of the week….distracted her mother said that one day was enough…God was very busy running the universe the other days.

Nellie, however, looked at the situation differently. She wondered if God wasn’t lonely the other six days while everybody else was working and doing other things.

So she asked her daddy for some wood so she could build a church in the back yard….puzzled her daddy shook his head and said that it wasn’t necessary to build another church…the town had a perfectly good one already.

Nellie continued to worry about the situation, however, and finally came up with an idea she knew her mother would accept.

She asked her mother if she could have some seeds to plant a garden for herself in the far corner of the back yard. Her mother was thrilled she was off this church “kick” and gave her morning glory seeds and sunflower seeds.

Nellie built a little low wattle fence out of sticks to surround her plot of land and placed the morning glory seeds around it so soon they would cover the little fence. Then inside the fence she planted sunflower seeds so that one day the tall sunflowers would stand like post guards to hide the inner sanctuary from prying eyes.

Nellie left one entrance in the back of the fence  and as soon as the morning glories and sunflowers grew tall enough to hide the center of the plot she took pine needles and covered the circle…lastly plopping a chair in the middle.

Now she was hidden from the outside world and could hold church with God every day of the week. Her parents were just glad she had found something to do to keep occupied.

Nellie talked to God and asked Him if he was lonely sometimes because she was. Then she would sing songs and read stories from her Children’s Bible Story Book.

One day a bright light began to shine into the clearing where Nellie sat…suddenly the sunflowers began to lean forward and backward…the morning glory vines started climbing up invisible spiral steps.

“Is that you God?” Nellie whispered. “Yes” came the gentle response. “I’m so glad You are here” clapped Nellie as she heard God say “I was always here even though you couldn’t see me.”

From that time on Nellie and God talked about flowers, animals, Jesus and the Holy Spirit…all things found in the universe.

Sometimes at the supper table when she shared some of her new discoveries to her surprised parents, they too, asked her where she got her information. ( Like Eva Cate…she replied “God told me.“)

One day Nellie’s mother decided to spy on her while she was in her garden…From the other side of the fence she could hear Nellie talking to God and singing songs by composers like Beethoven…something strange was going on.

When she told her husband about Nellie’s church in the garden and what she heard….her husband assured her that “this, too, would pass” because Fall was coming and the sunflowers and morning glories would soon die out. Then her church would be gone.

The day did arrive when all the flowers were gone and the fence was no more…but Nellie didn’t despair..she knew the secret…the sunflower church was alive in her heart where she knew it would bloom forever.

………………………….

So until tomorrow…Let us never forget that God resides in His Home in our hearts…church is just a heart-beat away.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

• Look at this beautiful painting by Joan Turner! Joan…when I was having lunch at the tea room with Jo and Colby…I asked Colby to pass me the salt and pepper and they were in the shape of (china) cats that looked very close to your feline sugar bowl!

Kaitlyn and her good-looking family at Vail….isn’t it beautiful…looks like a scene out of an animated Disney movie.

*** Thank everyone for all the lovely comments yesterday…I felt like it was my birthday instead of a blog anniversary…you made me feel needed and special…I loved it!